She's Either a Rebel or Her Future's in Fashion

You know that show Toddlers and Tiara's? If you don't, count yourself lucky. It's horrible. It's all about people who enter their very young daughters in pageants. These girls are anywhere between 6 months and 12 years old and they are all tarted up, wearing fake tans, fake teeth, fake hair, and prancing around a stage in some hotel conference room somewhere trying to win a prize. Sp yeah, I'm not into that scene and in fact I judge those parents for subjecting their kids to it.

Yes, I was in a pageant when I was 16- old enough to decide for myself- and old enough to realize that my self worth did not depend on winning. Also, there was no fake hair, teeth, or tan.

(Also: I do realize that there is a certain irony to the fact that I will watch the show and still judge it so harshly. It's like a terrible wreck, though - I can't look away if it comes on. I don't know.)

Anyway. Of course I would never put my daughters into that world at their ages. I don't even really like the idea of the dance classes that require them to get all dolled up for the recitals with makeup and what-not. I mean, at 4 years old is that really necessary? (Louisa goes to a dance class that doesn't even have recitals.)

So today, I took Louisa to the mall. First of all, she was still wearing her dance leotard from this morning's class. It's black, with a ruffle around the waist and some sparkly things across the neckline. On top of that, she had taken a skinny scarf of mine (a silky scarf, not a winter scarf) and wrapped it around her waist above the ruffle and had me tie it in a bow. So she was looking, you know, special.

Then, we walked through a department store. There were having an end-if-season shoe sale and I stopped to browse the table that had shoes in my size stacked on it. I turned around from picking through the boxes to find Louisa putting on the most ridiculous, shiny-bright-pink, platform, peep-toe, 4-inch-stiletto shoes. Hooker shoes, really. ANd there she was, in all her fabulousness, prancing around the aisle. I didn't know whether to be horrified or amused. I took a picture but part of me doesn't even want to post it because she totally looks like a little pageant girl. And the whole time, what I was really thinking was: seriously?? This is MY daughter? Where does this come from??